Throughout this application various publications are referred to in parentheses. Citations for these references may be found at the end of the specification immediately preceding the claims. The disclosures of these publications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties into the subject application to more fully describe the art to which the subject application pertains.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) include autism and other related disorders. Autism is a behaviorally defined disorder that comprises a controversial diagnostic category due to heterogeneity in symptomatology, causation, and etiology and significant variance in response to intervention (Beglinger and Smith 2001, Pelios and Lund 2001, Szatmari 2000). Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are heritable developmental disorders characterized by impairments in social interaction, language and communication deficits and repetitive or stereotyped behaviors. Although the genetic contributions to ASD are being intensively explored (Abrahams & Geschwind 2008, Morrow et al. 2008, Sebat et al. 2007), little is known concerning the relationship of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors to the core features or neuropathological substrate underlying ASD (Persico & Bourgeron 2006). Parent reports, clinical observations and formal studies indicate that autistic behaviors are ameliorated in some children during febrile episodes (Curran et al. 2007). The incidence of autism spectrum disorders has been estimated to be in the range of 30-60 cases per 10,000 people (Rutter 2005). There continues to be a need for treatments for autistic subjects.